Folding easel kit



Aug. 21, 1951 KAPLAN I 2,565,078

FOLDING EASEL KIT Filed 1947 INVENTOR- fife/m MPLAN Patented Aug. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to artists equipment in the nature of easels and carrying cases therefor.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel form of artist's easel which is adapted to furnish stable support for a picture frame and the like, and for paints, brushes and other articles used therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide an artist's easel which is adapted to fold com-'- pactly for placement into a carrying case of novel design, the easel incorporating the top and body of the carrying case as integral structural elements when set up for use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of collapsible artists easel and carrying case of the type described, which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, light in weight, and easily set up and taken down.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved easel and carrying case set up for use,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevational View taken on line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a right side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken on line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the novel form of carrying case, closed ready for transportation,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken on line 8-3 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken on line 99 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 10 is a sectional plan view taken on line Ill-40 of Fig. 2.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to the drawings,

in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown, the easel includes upwardly convergent front legs 2i! and 22 which may be made of wood or other suitable material, the lower ends of the front legs resting upon the floor 24. The inner surfaces 26 and 28 of the top ends of the front legs are out of parallelism with the outer surfaces 3!) and 32 respectively thereof as seen best in Fig. 6, to receive therebetween the top canvas frame holding arm 34.

The upper ends of the front legs and the inner end of the arm 34 are held together securely by means of the screws 36 the shank of which extends through axially aligned lateral holes formed therein, the threaded end of the screw engaging a nut 38 seated in a recess 48 formed in the outer surface of leg 29. The head of the screw 36 is knurled to permit tightening and loosening of the same with the fingers.

As seen best in Figs. 5 and 6, the frame holding arm 34 has a notch 42 which is adapted to receive the upper edge of a canvas frame 44 upon which a picture or sketch is to be drawn or painted. A series of spaced holes 46 are also formed through the arm 33, the degree of extension of the arm being regulated by inserting the screw 36 through the proper hole 46. It will be seen that when the canvas frame rests upon the platform or shelf 48, the holding arm 34 may be turned downwards about its axis to engage the upper edge of the frame with the notch 42, the screw 36 imparting sufiicient friction to hold the arm 34 in its position as thus set.

The platform or shelf 48 is formed from the cover of the carrying case, and includes the top -member 50, and the upwardly divergent partial sides 52 and 54 secured thereto as shown in Fig. 5, and in Fig. 3, the parts being shown assembled to the rest of the case in'Fig. 7, The inner partial side 54 of the cover of the carrying case rests against and across the two front legs 20 and 22, being secured thereto by means of a bolt 56 extending through a hole formed in the wall 54 and through a lateral strut 58 which bears against the rearward surfaces of the two legs 20 and 22 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that upon the tightening of the knurled head of the bolt 56, the effect is to draw the platform 48 tightly against the legs 28 and 22, holding it securely in position as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

The carrying handle 60 of the carrying case top 38 hangs downwardly when in the position of Figs. 1 and 5, allowing a wiping cloth 62 to be hung thereon. The carrying case also includes a bottom member 64 comprising end Walls 66 and 68, and partial side walls 10 and 12. When in assembled positions, it will be seen from Figs. 1, 5 and 8, that a separate bolt 14 passes through an axially aligned hole formed in each leg 20 and 22 and through the underlying partial wall Ill of the carrying case, forming a rigid structure when the bolts are tightened by means of their knurled heads. A second pair of openings 14a in the wall 10 provides a selection of the height from the fioor of the carrying case bottom member 54.

A rear leg 16 formed of wood or other suitable material has its lower end resting upon the floor 24, its upper end portion being secured to the central portion of the rearward partial wall 12 of the carrying case by means of a pair of bolts 80 extending through axially aligned bores formed in the rear leg and the underlying surface of the wall '12. The heads of the bolts are knurled to permit tightening by means of the fingers. From Fig. 9 it will be seen that the inner surface of the top of the rear leg is cut away somewhat to match the underlying surface of the wall 12. A third opening 12a in the wall [2 permits selective positioning of the leg 16 and thus alters its angular relationship with respect to the front legs 20 and 22.

When in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the main body of the carrying case which is thus disposed below the platform 48, serves as a convenient receptacle for artists materials such as paints, brushes, and the like.

For transportation and storage, the various parts making up the easel shown, may be readily taken apart and placed into the carrying case which is then closed as shown in Fig. 7, and locked by means of the locks 82, the upper elements of which are carried by the case top 43. The rear leg 16 is short enough to fit inside the carrying case, and the upright front legs 20 and 22 are divided into three sections 86, 88 and 99, the abutting portions of the leg sections being recessed or notched out as shown best in Figs. 2, and 10, to form lap joints, with a bolt 92 extending through the abutting ends of the top and middle sections to hold them securely together. The middle and lower leg sections are held together by means of the bolts M extending through their overlapping ends. As already explained, the bolts 14 also serve to engage with the front wall of the main body of the carrying case.

For greater rigidity in the lap joints, each has a corrugated metal fastener 94 driven into the upwardly projecting end of the lower abutting section of the leg and extending laterally into a slot 96 cut into the opposite lap extension of the upper section of the leg. This is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 10.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. An article of artists equipment comprising a carrying case including a carrying case body and a top cover member, front legs formed in a plurality of sections securable together readily to form the easel, each section being short enough to fit into the carrying case, means for securing said front legs together at their upper ends, a canvas frame holding arm pivotally carried by said means, said carrying case top member being securable across the two front legs below said arm to provide a shelf for a canvas frame, said carrying case body being securable across said front legs below said top member to form a rigid struc ture and to receive artists materials, and a rear leg of a length short enough to fit into said carrying case when disassembled, and having its upper end secured to a central portion of the rearward wall of said carrying case body.

2. An article of artists equipment comprising a carrying case including a carrying case body and a removable cover member having a channel portion, front legs formed in a plurality of sections securable together readily to form an easel, each section being short enough to fit into the carrying case, means for securing saidfront legs together at their upper ends, a canvas frame holding arm pivotally carried by said means, said carrying case top member being securable across the two front legs below said arm whereby to receive a canvas frame in the channel portion thereof to provide a shelf therefor, said carrying case body being securable across said front legs at a point spaced from said top cover member to form a rigid structure and to receive artists materials therein, a rear leg adapted to fit into the carrying case and disposed on the opposite side of said carrying case body from that of said front legs and means for maintaining said rear leg in such last named position.

HERMAN KAPLAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 385,536 Van Wart July 3, 1888 831,766 Bing Sept. 25, 1906 1,065,255 Kuhat June 17, 1913 1,069,879 Deeney et a1 Aug. 12, 1913 1,480,631 Osborn Jan. 15, 1924 2,019,214 Denny Oct. 29, 1935 2,064,232 Tepper Dec. 15, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,998 Great Britain 1887 

